Comment by Diane Sugimura to article in Citiwire

In the comments section of this article, Diane M. Sugimura, Director, Seattle Dept. of Planning and Development, writes:

“The Short Story: Sustainability Study Tours to Denmark and Sweden … just five days in country. They started in 2004, and now probably a dozen trips later, with more than 200 people participating … mostly from Seattle, but from Portland and other places – architects, developers, property owners, engineers, and yes, public officials. (They have a scholarship program for non-profits and public officials, which helps immensely.) Initial trip included those who were already green but wanted to learn more, those who were kinda there, and those who weren’t there at all but wanted to know what their competitors were learning. ALL came back absolutely committed.”

Havana Feb 2010 in the DJC and Presentation Invite for 04/09/2010

Some may scoff at that notion that developers and civic leaders could learn anything worthwhile in Cuba, but that didn’t stop a group from going to Havana last month on an i-Sustain tour.

Seattle-based i-Sustain, which counts among its clients many of the region’s leading architects, developers and builders, works to identify best urban development and sustainability practices and takes people on study trips to see how those practices work. They travel to Scandinavia, Australia and Brazil — among other places — to capture the best ideas on issues ranging from alternative transportation to recycling.

But Cuba? What could people learn from that falling-apart, communist country? Plenty, says Seattle developer Kevin Daniels.

i-sustain, a precursor in Green citites, in Scientific American

“While there is no formal green cities organization, per se, many groups have sprung up to help urban areas achieve their sustainability goals… And International Sustainable Solutions takes urban planners, developers and elected officials on tours so they can check out some of the world’s greenest cities to glean first-hand what works and what can be applied back home.”

Patricia Chase, among Seattle’s most Influential People

“Seattle’s supply of environmental movers and shakers is not endangered. Meet nine who are wielding influence and leadership on the green scene…Patricia Chase and Jayson Antonoff, founders of the innovative sustainability study tour group International Sustainable Solutions, which literally brings together politicians, policy makers, real estate developers and educators with environmental leaders and experts from around the world…”

i-Sustain, Seattle, Malmo and Copenhagen in the PI

Journalist D.Parvaz participated in the six day sustainability tour of Malmo, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark. In this article he reflects about energy production, waste reduction and traffic reduction in Denmark as it relates to Seattle.

Commuter Toolkit in the Seattle PI

A campaign launched by i-sustain to encourage discussion about transportation alternatives. The campaign included pictures of people riding in cars, buses, light rails and bicycles to show how much space is being used by differing transportation systems. August 26, 2007.

i-Sustain’s Trash Fashion Bash in the PI

The Trash Fashion Bash: A runway fashion show depicting how much “stuff” people throw away while promoting discussions on sustainability in Seattle.

Green city movement and I-Sustain in Insight News

March 6, 2009: This article focuses on the “green city movement” and how different cities around the world- Curitiba in Brazil, Malmo in Sweden and San Francisco in the US -to say the least- are striving to decrease their environmental impacts.

Trash Fashion 2 at SAM, in the PI

The second runway fashion show where “politics and fashion” met. Local civil leaders walked down the runway in recyclables to strut their support for sustainability in Seattle.